Stewardship – Conduits of God’s Grace
Genesis 14
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.
Stewardship through tithing did not begin with the Mosaic Law, but as a part of Abraham’s faithfulness to God. Abraham was well before the law. Abraham was the picture of justification by faith that points directly to our faith in Christ. Abraham was not justified by the law, but by trusting God. It is through Abraham’s faith that the first tithe was given. The principle of giving was not the tithe. Giving to God’s work was the tithe, but the principle of giving is stewardship – all things belong to God and entrusted to our care. Abraham testified to this in Genesis 14:22-23. After giving a tenth to the Priest of God, Abraham then declared that God was the Possessor of all things and Abraham took an oath that He would not take anything so that he would not become rich outside of God.
This principle from Genesis is revived in the New Testament after the law was fulfilled in Christ. God’s people were no longer following the letter of the Law of Moses, but the law of faith written in their hearts. The law of faith is written in our hearts when we are born into the new life through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:27). We are not constrained by the Law, but compelled by faith and the love of God. For a child of God, obedience comes from a desire of the heart, not a command of the law. In the New Testament church, we see the same focus that Abraham had – He is the Possessor and we are the stewards. Look at Acts 2:
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
The Law demands 1/10th but faith acknowledges all things are His. It is true that Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law, but this opened the door for us to live in complete trust toward God. Between Abraham and the Cross, the people were blinded when the law was obeyed outside of faith. Obedience and justification have always been a matter of faith. Before the law, faith justified. During the time of the Law, people were justified by keeping the law out of faith. Now that Jesus has been revealed and the veil has been removed, we are justified by faith alone. In the past, the law guided people to faith in God, today faith in Christ guides us to keep God’s law. The things that pleased God in times of old, still please God today. The things that grieved God in the Old Testament days, grieve God’s heart today.
In this study, I want to look at four principles of giving: Trusting God, being Conduits of God’s Grace, God blesses the giver, and Giving with the right motives.
1. Trusting God
Tithing and giving is trusting God with finances. It is an act of faith, believing God and putting our trust in Him and not our own strength. When I give back to God, I am showing that my trust is not in my money, but in my God. I am taking my trust out of my hands and out of the world’s control through money and placing my confidence in God. It is easy to horde and put my confidence in my ability to build up a large reserve. I am not saying that planning for the future is wrong. It is good stewardship to get out of debt and to prepare for retirement. But I am saying that this is secondary to trusting God. To plan ahead without God is foolishness.
In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus told a parable about a man who put his trust in wealth. This man was prosperous. He worked hard and it paid off. He decided to build bigger barns, stock up with plenty and live the good life. God judged him, not for prospering, but making his prosperity his trust and his god. Jesus concluded by saying, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God”.
Possessions will become our god if we do not take care to place our hope in God. Tomorrow the economy could collapse and every penny would be worthless. Proverbs 23:5 says, “Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” The Bible also tells us that in the last days, people will throw their silver in the streets and gold will be cast away like abhorrent trash (Ezekiel 7:19). Those whose trust is in God will still have their strength during hard times, but whoever trusts in wealth will not have a foundation.
Even in hard times, I believe entrusting my finances to God is vital. The moment I cut God out of my finances, I have declared His untrustworthiness over my life. When I struggle to get by, giving is the first thing I want to cut. However, God uses hard times to test us and see if we really trust Him. God tests us and asks us to put Him to the test. “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10).
A few years back I began to tithe consistently for the first time in my life. It was a tight squeeze but it was something I really wanted to do. Before this, I didn’t feel like I was really trusting God. I had a family living off one income and that money meant a lot. I committed to giving out of trust and desire and not out of an attitude of paying a bill. I don’t believe I am paying a debt, but giving back a portion of what God has blessed me with. Before this decision, we had been slowly sinking into debt. Two things happened in my life as a result of this commitment. God began to bless my finances and I began to get a more responsible attitude toward my finances. We began to start making progress against our debt. I prayed and asked God to help us get out of debt. I did not want my finances constricting my ability to serve God.
During this time, work began to slow down and I found myself without a project for almost a year. God used this time for me to serve in ministry more actively, but I felt like I was on borrowed time at work. One day my manager called me at home and asked me to come in for an urgent meeting. He sounded very serious and I knew the axe was about to fall. I stopped by a park on the way to work for a brief time of prayer. I told God that I trusted Him. I did not know what was in store, but I only asked that He would send His angel before me and pave the way. If I got fired this day, I could then be confident that this was of God. I left the park and went to meet with management.
We discussed the past year and how I had not had any projects because of the slow down in the businesses we offer our services to. After looking at all this lack of work, he asked when I had my last raise. He then offered me the largest raise I have ever been given and then asked me if I thought this was fair. I almost fell out of my chair. It was a few months later that I was offered a new position with the company. Shortly after I accepted this position, the company had a massive lay-off. I would have been laid off if I had not changed positions. God honored my commitment to trust Him and has blessed my finances far beyond what I could have done alone.
I believe that the moment I am in a position that calls for me to sacrifice my tithes to God, I am forced to choose to trust or not trust God. God does not promise to shield us from hardship and testing. I believe that we all will have times that it will be hard to trust God with our finances just as it is hard to trust Him with every area of life. The moment I cut God out of my finances I am proving that I no longer trust Him. I have personally seen His miracles over my finances. To now take that trust out of His hands would be a great failure on my part. He is trustworthy – even when it is impossible.
2. Conduits of God
God’s blessings are not about us, but about Him. Everything about the Christian life should be focused on a relationship with God or glorifying God so others will be drawn into a relationship with God. God blesses us so that we can be instruments of God’s grace to others. God does not pour into a person so they can be self-focused and stagnate. Many people become like the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is replenished by the Jordan River and countless other streams and rivers coming from the mountains that surround it. The rivers flowing into are filled with life, but the sea is lifeless. It is one of the richest mineral beds on earth. It is filled with a treasure of minerals that have been deposited from centuries of deposits, yet because it has no natural outlet, it can’t support life. It has no fish or plant life and land animals avoid it.
When we take in all that God blesses and never give, we will be spiritually dead. Why should God continue to pour into a person who is stagnate and lifeless? A hoarder never produces life for themselves or anyone around them. That doesn’t just go for money, but time, talents and resources. God blesses so that we can become His hands that touches the lives of other people. The church today has been duped into thinking that God’s blessings are only about them. If they see someone in need, many teach that a person is sinful or lacking in faith. But God says that people in need are there for us to minister to. They are placed in our path so that God can be glorified through us and lives can be touched for His name’s sake. The Bible tells us that those in need will never cease and we are to open wide our hands for the needy (Deut 15:11). Proverbs tells us that the person who gives to those in need will not lack, but those who with hold will be cursed, and the person who gives, lends to the Lord and He will repay.
It is God we give to when we give. Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham to do the work of God and he was also the one who blessed Abraham. In the same way, it is God who blesses us, we give to God and He intern blesses us again. We tithe to the work of God and we give to those who lack. As we do, God honors our faithfulness. God has given us what we need to bless others. He gives and tests our trustworthiness. If I prove to be self-focused and untrustworthy, I will lack. Or as Proverbs 11:24 states, “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.”
Don’t forget the source or the purpose of our blessings. God is the Possessor, we are the stewards that use His possessions for His purpose. If our vision is blocked by our flesh, we will only see this side of eternity. We will only look out for number 1 and neglect God’s purposes. But someone who is focused on God’s purpose looks ahead and sees that it is not about them, but about glorifying God. You can’t glorify God without benefiting. When I see that it is not about me, then it is easier to let go. I will realize that it doesn’t matter if I miss out in this life because it is far better to gain in the life to come. It is foolish to cling to this world at the cost of eternity. My inheritance from God is eternal, but everything in this life will pass. Things of this life may slip through my hands here or it may just pass when my life passes, but what is surrendered to God will never pass away because we are delaying our gratification for what is far better.
3. God Blesses the Giver
Luke 6
38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
You can’t out give God. We have already seen the promises that if we obey and put God’s principles to the test, He has promised to open the windows of heaven so that we cannot contain it all. Very seldom will we see someone really believe God in this. We give a little with a timid heart, and are amazed when God blesses us. Somehow, even though we see God move, we still can’t just let go. There is still a need for a safety net that keeps us from allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. Like everything else in a life of walking by faith, we learn and grow. There is never a time when we quit growing or else we will begin to slip. Living by faith is a daily challenge and we must constantly remind ourselves not to live by sight, but by a Christ centered focus.
We must never lose sight of the fact that God is in total control and the purpose of what He provides is to equip us as well as fulfill us. We can’t live and walk by faith unless we trust that God has control of all things. Not only does He see tomorrow, but He has ordained all that will happen tomorrow. He even allows the struggles that try us and ultimately will shape into our good if we remain faithful. Once I understand this, I will also understand that everything He provides fits into that plan. I should be honored that God has entrusted me with the resources to help others. It is a privilege to give, not a task that I force myself to complete. God has given to me above what I deserve and He asks me to take His abundance and touch my world. I touch my world through my church and ministries that are working toward the same goals I have. God may also ask me to be the direct hand that touches those in need.
As I show myself trustworthy, God increases my responsibility and I reach deeper into this needy world. When I take my eyes off Christ and off the needs of the gospel and put my focus on myself, I forget my purpose. It becomes about me – my needs, my desires, my fulfillment. I take my satisfaction out of God’s hands and take it upon myself. God can’t bless a self-focused person. When we are like the Dead Sea, we are a dead end to God’s grace and He can’t give to us as He desires. But when I am like a flowing river, He is able to pour His fresh Spirit into my life and through me He flows out to others.
4. Giving With Godly Motives
Our motives are important. There is no such thing as ‘planting a thousand dollar seed of faith’ with the promise of $5000 in return. God is not a holy stockbroker. The whole motivation behind giving is not getting from God, but trusting God. It is dying to our selfish flesh so that God can raise us up in His new life. Our spiritual life does benefit us now in this life, but the spiritual focus is on the life to come. We give in a spirit of love, not a spirit of greed. Our motivation for giving is thankfulness for what God has already blessed. As our focus becomes His focus, He can trust us with more and scripture does teach that God will return in greater measure what we have given to Him. However, the greater measure also belongs to God and is entrusted into our care for His purposes. Even when we look at the life of Abraham we see this fact. Abraham’s desire was never for the wealth God provided. Abraham’s focus was on God. He always allowed others to reap the benefits first because He trusted God to be the one who fulfilled him. Our purpose is to glorify God and all that we have should be held in that perspective.
Not long ago I saw some needs I felt compelled to pray over. I saw three ministries that I thought were meeting the needs of this culture. I asked God to provide me with the means to give to these ministries. I even gave God a dollar amount that I set as a goal for giving. My thinking was that in the future my income would grow and I could give. However, two days later, I received a call. I was again overdue for a raise and the amount of the increase was almost exactly what I had prayed for. What was more amazing was that I got a 4% higher raise than the maximum for our company. Later I found out that of all those in my division, my raise was the only one that went through because of changes in management.
It is also important to give out of gratitude. Read 2 Corinthian 9
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
9 As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
It is vital to give with gratitude or we are not touching the heart of God. If I am not thankful and giving from the heart, I am not showing my love for God and gratefulness for what God has provided. To give out of guilt is not giving, but making a payment we think we owe. In reality, we owe God every penny so what good is 1/10th against our debt? It is thankfulness that draws us to give. And what is the fruit of our giving? It is found in verse 9, “He supplies the seed…the bread…and multiplies what we have sown and increases the fruits of your righteousness”. God will supply our needs, but money will pass. The righteousness produced by our heart of obedience will last forever. The cheerful giver will have sufficiency in all things and abundance for every good work. The ultimate goal is to make an eternal impact. Money is not the focus, eternity is. Money just one of the tools that we use. Our attitude toward giving is a reflection of our spiritual condition. Someone who is living in thanksgiving will be generous and trust God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Part of becoming a growing disciple of Christ is learning to walk by faith – trusting God – in every area of our lives.
*** This sermon can be downloaded as a Word document by following the link at http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/gen/stewardship.htm
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